Door opener or closer.



No. 695,036. Patented Mar. n, |902.

w. n. cook.

D008 OPENER 0R CLOSER.

(Application filed Nov. 8` 1901.) (No Model.) 2Sh-eetsShee1 l.

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No. 695,036. Pateted'Mar. Il, |902.

w. H. cook. DOOR OPENER UR CLOSER.

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WILLIAM I-I. COOK, OF NEWARK, DELAWARE.

DOOR OPENER OR CLOSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of vLetters Patent No. 695,036, dated March 11, 1902. Application filed November 8, 1901. Serial No. 81,615. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM-II. Cook, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Newcastleand State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Openers or Olosers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of automatic devices for opening and closing doors whereby the opening of the door is accomplished through the medium of a system of levers operated by the weight of a person who is about to pass through the door-opening, while the closing of the door is effected automatically by the action of devices tending to restore the levers to their normal position.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing a sliding door with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the depressible plate, showing the manner of connecting the lever thereto. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the sliding door and the depressible plate. Fig. et is a top plan view of the depressible plate.

A represents a sliding door, supported by rollers a, attached to its upper end, which rollers run upon a track b.

F is a depressible plate extending across the door-opening below the door and beyond the door on each side a sufficient distance to permit a person to lstand' upon it on either side of the door. This plate is hinged at one edge to a strip I, the latter being` supported by and secured to the floor 1l. The opposite edge of the plate is supported by a plurality of springs f, which are supported by the floor, and normally the plate F will be substantially in a horizontal plane.

O represents a rock-shaft, supported to turn in bearings c, and to this shaft one end of a rod d is rigidly connected. The rod CZ extends from the shaft upwardly and at an inclination toward the edge of the do'or A, and to itsl upper end one end of alink e is pivotallycon-v nected, and the other end of the link is pivotally connected to the edge of the door.

L represents a lever which, as shown and preferred, consists of two rods or bars firmly secured together and lying parallel to each other for about two-thirds of its length. This bar extends through an opening in the strip I, such opening being of such dimensions and shape that the lever may rock freely therein without any appreciable vertical movement. The lever extendsbelow the plate Rand from the hinged edge of such plate the two bars of the lever L are bent to form diverging arms Z, which are secured at their outer ends to the platform F by straps o or any other suitable devices. The inner end of the lever L is pivotally connected to one end of a short linkp, and the other end of this link is pivotally connected to the end of a short arm q, which projects from the shaft O at substantially a right angle to the rod CZ. The arm q is rigidly connected to the shaft C.

Vhen the plate F is elevated above the door, it is desirable to cover up the open space between it and the floor. The strip I serves this purpose on one side, and various means `may be employed to close the spaces on the other sides. For example, I may attach metal plates gto the three edges of the plateF and cut slots in the floor to permit them to have free vertical movement with the plate, as indicated in Fig. 8. Cutting' slots in the licor may, however, be objectionable, and preferably I shall employ strips of iiexible material ysuch as leather, canvas, thor-and tack such strips to the floor and the edges of the plate F, as indicated in Fig. l. When the plate F is depressed, these flexible strips will crease or fold somewhat as a bellows.

The operation of the device can readily be understood, and it is only necessary to state that the weight'of a person on the plate F will depress the latter to rock the lever L and bring such'lever, link p, arm q, rod d, and link e and the door A to the positions indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l. In this movement the bottom wall of the opening a; will be 4the fulcrurn of the lever L. When the person steps off the plate F, the springsf will return the plate to normal position and the forked end 0f the lever L will move up with it, and the top wall of the opening will be the fulcrum of the lever, and the inner end of the lever will move downwardly and thereby restore the parts to normal position and close the door.

Obviously the nearer the person stands to IOO the free edge of the plate F the greater will door and extending beyond it on each side, a

be the leverage, and consequently the door will be opened more easily and quickly, and I therefore propose to put some indicatingmark upon the plate F, near its free edge on both sides of the door, to indicate to the person desiring to pass through the door-opening where he should stand. Such mark may be in the form of a foot impression, or suitable words may be imprinted on the plate, such as Step here, as indicated in Fig. 4.

Without limiting myself to t-he precise details of construction illustrated and described, I claim- 1. The combination with a sliding door, of a spring-supported depressible plate below the door and extending beyond it on each side, a fulcrum adjacent to one edge of the door, a lever resting upon said fulcrum and having diverging arms at one side of the fulcrum extending'under and secured to the plate, a link connected to the end of the lever on the other side of the fulcrum, a rock-shaft, a short arm extending from the shaft to which said link is pivotally connected, a long rod rigidly connected at one end to said shaft and extending therefrom at an angle to the short arm, and a link connecting the other end of the long rod to the door,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a sliding door, ofa spring-supported depressible plate below the strip to which said plate is hinged at one edge,

said strip having an opening, a lever extending through said opening and the upper and lower walls of said opening forming opposing fulcrums for said lever, diverging arms on said lever on one side of the strip extending below and connected to the plate, and connections between the end of the lever on the other side of the strip and the door, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a sliding door and a floor below it, of a spring-supported depressible plate between the door and the floor and extending beyond the sides of the door, a lever pivoted adjacent to one edge of the plate and extending at one end under the latter, a rock-shaft, arms on said shaft, a connection between one pf said arms and the door, and a connection between the other arm and said lever, and strips secured to the edges of the plate and arranged to close the space between the plate and the floor, substantially as :set 

